


wanna be the one you steal

by kairumption (lapmonster)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Space, Existential Crisis, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6538819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapmonster/pseuds/kairumption
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun, god of light, collects stars before they die; but one is reluctant to go with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	wanna be the one you steal

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a little thing. you can read this as platonic or romantic /shrug/ title from shine by years & years, aka the perfect baekchen song ever go listen to it. the actual exo song “the star” is good for this too, honestly. thank you jenna for beta'ing *3* ([crossposted to lj!](http://rumwrites.livejournal.com/1364.html))

Haloed in the warmth of his own light, Baekhyun still rubbed his hands together against the crushing cold. Strangely, he could never acclimate to space. Fogged breath inexplicably still pushed past his lips despite the lack of oxygen surrounding him, an image he had inadvertently conjured up himself. This physical form was a mere illusion, after all, just a trick of the light. His fawn skin glowed of its own accord, his iridescent, constantly changing eyes flickering like flames beneath wind-tousled blonde locks. He was draped in shimmering gold and white robes, a plain, unadorned bag on his back. He didn’t need to breathe at all, he shouldn’t have even been cold, but he had walked among humans for so many thousands of years that he must have grown used to it.

He was uncharacteristically taking his time, casually hitching up his satchel of stars over a shoulder as he meandered his way through the galaxy at the speed of light. As god of light, he was more or less present in every light source in the universe; anywhere there was light, so was he. Now in this form, however, he chose to laze through the sky, on his way to dying stars and planting new ones. As he flew Baekhyun swung his backpack forward, unclasping the top to look inside at the array of colorful orbs that would become stars.

Baekhyun was a collector. Or hoarder, as the other gods would jest. He saved stars, or rather, the minor gods that lived in stars, before their homes collapsed into black holes—into the realm no one, not even a god, could survive. _Let them die_ , many had told him, _You’re like this with humans too. You can’t take home every stray that comes your way_. But these stars were not strays, they were his own creations. Maybe they weren’t his children, but they were pieces of him, scattered across the universe and shining and deserving of life and love.

Another star was dying. Of course, over one hundred billion stars were born and died every year, but time meant nothing to the god. He was everywhere and nowhere at once, depositing stars as he went, blessing the sky with his radiance. He procured one of the orbs, a seed for a red supergiant and deposited it in a passing nebula to gestate. Sowing as he went, Baekhyun thought of the stargod he was to meet.

Jongdae was an old, old star on the brink of supernova, a blue giant that Baekhyun had watched over fondly since birth, but he wondered nervously if the star even remembered him. He fidgeted with the straps of his satchel, now empty, as he approached the giant and let the unstable star envelop him into its world.

The inside was charged with electricity, as if inside the eye of a lightning storm. Baekhyun spotted the other god quickly, at the center of it all, curled in on himself with his forehead to his knees and his hands linked at the ankles. With a start, he looked up, eyes sparkling with fresh tears.

Jongdae was clad all in black, tightly packed with lean muscle and cat-faced, pretty lips curved up at the corners in a somehow permanent smile despite the sour expression he sent Baekhyun, an intruder to his eyes. His dark hair stood on end. “Who are you?” he confronted, eyes flashing with the storm of the star.

“Well,” said Baekhyun, taken aback and too loud. He chuckled nervously, “This is awkward.” 

Jongdae watched him levelly, stubbornly seated. “How can you be here?” he demanded, repeating, “Who are you?”

“I’m Baekhyun,” he answered hopefully. Jongdae raised his eyebrows as if to ask, _Yeah, and?_ Baekhyun sighed. “God of light?” he continued, shooting sparks from twirling fingers for good measure.

Apparently unimpressed, Jongdae gave him an incredulous look. “Oh,” he said noncommittally, the vaguest flicker of recognition in his eyes. “Why here? It’s always just been me.” His fingers tightened around his wrists. “Why now?”

His irreverence, his _questions_ , flustered Baekhyun. “Your star is collapsing.”

“So that’s what the thunder is,” spoke Jongdae, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “Are you here to say goodbye?”

“I’m here to save you,” answered Baekhyun, a little perplexed. It usually went more smoothly than this.

“You weren’t here,” he mumbled, staring at the ground and hugging his legs to his chest. “Why do you care?”

“Because…” began Baekhyun, confused. He stood there a moment, eyes raking over the beautiful god before him. He could feel the pull between them, so strongly, Jongdae must have felt it too. He had been a part of him once. They were one once. Finally, he replied in the only way he could think of, “You’re mine.” 

Lightning lanced through the dark blue clouds around them. Jongdae looked up into Baekhyun’s eyes fiercely. “Then where have you been?”

Baekhyun didn’t know how to answer.

Then, a growl of thunder shook the room, a concussive sound that rattled their bones. Jongdae flinched, making himself even smaller, eyes wide and panicked with his hands caged over his ears. Thunder. Every ending had its own unique flavor, Baekhyun had seen them all. This one ended in storm, ended in the deafening pressure of thunder. He stepped towards the stargod.

Jongdae rocked a little. “I know,” he began. “I know I was borne of you once. A long time ago.” His eyes looked weathered and old, a minor reflection of Baekhyun’s own. “I’ve been alone for so long.”

“If I said ‘I was busy’ that wouldn’t help, would it?” asked Baekhyun, trying for a weak smile.

Jongdae gave him a thousand yard stare. “I know; there are a lot of stars out there, so much light. Some of them are my friends.” His voice grew quiet, “Were my friends.”

Baekhyun brightened at that, skin literally glowing. “You can meet them again, they’re with me now. If you come with me—”

“This is my _home_. I don’t want to leave,” said Jongdae, voice breaking, wrapping his arms around his legs again and hugging himself tighter. “I don’t want to die.”

Baekhyun kneeled before him. “You’ll die if you stay,” he replied gently.

“This isn’t _just_ my home. It’s all I am. How can I still _be_ without it?” He looked up at the other god. “We’re different, you and I. I’m just a minor god. This is all I’ve known. If I leave, how can I live?”

“Oh, Jongdae,” he whispered, soft as a summer breeze. He gently pried Jongdae’s fingers from their death grip around his legs to rest them on Jongdae’s knees. He held his hands like that for a long time, unmoving, unwavering in his gaze. Then, with another sigh, he leaned down to press his forehead to the other’s knuckles. He felt Jongdae’s body shudder with something like relief, resting his own head against Baekhyun’s. The stargod could feel the light, _the love_ , Baekhyun was pouring into him. Baekhyun laughed quietly, sadly. The smile he gave him when he met Jongdae’s eyes again was wide with hope. “Oh,” he repeated, cradling the stargod’s cheek in his palm. Jongdae melted into the caress. “Your light may fade, but you? You are eternal.”

Baekhyun stood, slipping through Jongdae’s fingers but his hands followed after like a shadow before they were dropped. “You’ll be safe with me,” he assured him. “You won’t have to be alone anymore.” He extended his hand to Jongdae again.

With only a moment’s hesitation, the star reached back, a spark of electricity arcing between their fingers.


End file.
